A ‘green’ building is a building that, in its design, construction or operation, reduces or eliminates negative impacts, and can create positive impacts, on our climate and natural environment. Green buildings preserve precious natural resources and improve our quality of life.

Features of Green Buildings

There are a number of features which can make a building ‘green’. These include: 

• Efficient use of energy, water and other resources
• Use of renewable energy, such as solar energy
• Pollution and waste reduction measures, and the enabling of re-use and recycling
• Good indoor environmental air quality
• Use of materials that are non-toxic, ethical and sustainable
• Consideration of the environment in design, construction and operation
• Consideration of the quality of life of occupants in design, construction and operation
• A design that enables adaptation to a changing environment

Benefits of green buildings

The world over, evidence is growing that green buildings bring multiple benefits.

They provide some of the most effective means to achieving a range of global goals, such as addressing climate change, creating sustainable and thriving communities, and driving economic growth.

The benefits of green buildings can be grouped within three categories: environmental, economic and social. Here, we provide a range of facts and statistics from various third-party sources that present these benefits.

Highlighting these benefits, and facilitating a growing evidence base for proving them, is at the heart of what we do as an organisation.